Man denies high-speed chase, breaks down in court

A Box Elder man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in which he ran three oncoming vehicles off the road - including a Montana Highway patrolmen - denied the charges Monday afternoon in District Court and broke down and cried after having his bail reduced.

Darren Joseph Johnson, 40, first pleaded guilty when District Court Judge Daniel Boucher asked him how he pleaded to five felony counts of criminal endangerment. Johnson's lawyer, Jeffrey L. Sutton, who was in the room via video, quickly intervened and had Johnson plead not guilty. Johnson said he just wanted to "get it over with" but complied with his lawyer and officially pleaded not guilty.

Hill County Attorney Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson said after Johnson tried to continue pleading guilty that he will eventually get a chance to plead guilty, but, at the time, Sutton was trying to protect his interest.

In addition to the counts of criminal endangerment, Johnson is also charged with misdemeanor counts of obstructing a peace officer, driving under the influence, eluding a peace officer, reckless driving, theft, driving while suspended or revoked and failure to show proof of insurance.

During the arraignment hearing, Johnson asked Boucher to be released on his own recognizance. Sutton told Boucher his client would stay with his wife and four daughters in Box Elder and work as a roofer, saying he was not a danger to the community or a flight risk. He would also participate in a 24/7 Sobriety Program, Sutton said.

Cole-Hodgkinson objected, citing a felony conviction for unauthorized use of vehicle in 1996, as well as misdemeanor convictions for disorderly conduct in 2007 and 2015, in addition to the severity of the current charges.

"He endangered an officer, he endangered the passengers in his vehicle - he nearly ran someone off the road," Cole-Hodgkinson said.

Johnson said he understood the seriousness of the offense. Boucher reduced Johnson's bail from $10,000 to $1,000 and that's when Johnson began to cry.

"I can't come up with that," Johnson said.

Johnson's alleged offenses happened April 30.

Court documents say police dispatch received a call at 2:11 p.m. from someone reporting a gas drive off. The driver was behind the wheel of a Buick Oldsmobile and carrying three passengers, the report said.

An officer spotted the vehicle on Fifth Avenue. He activated his emergency lights and the Buick sped up. The driver drove faster than 80 miles per hour on Fifth Avenue and illegally passed four cars, documents say.

Once on Beaver Creek Highway, the vehicle reached speeds of 110 mph.

An officer said he noticed "what appeared to be an altercation" between the driver and one of the passengers while speeding down Beaver Creek Highway. The officer also reported that items such as a shoe, glass bottle and a can with liquid were thrown out of the speeding car.

"A passenger was also hanging out of the window," court documents say.

Johnson allegedly nearly collided with oncoming vehicles four times.

At Mile Marker 8, while driving in the opposite lane, a vehicle turned into a ditch to avoid hitting the Buick head-on; at Mile Marker 10, another head-on collision was narrowly avoided; between mile markers 10 and 9, documents say, the Buick appeared to intentionally have swerved toward another vehicle, causing that vehicle to veer completely into a ditch; and at one point a Montana Highway Patrol trooper also drove into a ditch to avoid a head-on collision.

At one point, the vehicle entered a ditch, dropped off a passenger and took off again

The Buick stopped at the corner of LaSalle and Loredo Road to drop off a second passenger. On Lasalle Road, Johnson drove off the road and through a fence before crashing in a creek, documents say. A Rocky Boy Police officer found Johnson with no shoes and wet clothes.

Johnson was arrested and failed several of the standardized field sobriety tests, documents say. He began to cry and apologize and said he was the one driving the vehicle. Johnson also said he stole fuel from the gas station and that he didn't want to go to jail so he "kicked it from there."

Johnson told officers he drank "a couple liters of vodka" and that he smoked marijuana "all day, every day, bro," documents say. He said his passengers told him to pull over during the chase.

Johnson was in the Hill County Detention Center this morning.